Improvement in adjustable stiff hats



M. MQGLONE.

Adjustable Stiff Hats No. 211,33 Patented Jan 14,1879.

UNITED Alanna Ion.

IMPROVEMENT lN ADJUSTABLE STlFF HATS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 211.338, dated January 14, 1879; application filed December 16, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL MeGLoNn, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Hats; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part hereof.

My invention relates to that class of hats which are stiffened by means of shellac and other compositions into rigid shapes. The great objection to these hats has heretofore been the difliculty experienced in fitting a hat of a certain measurement to a persons head of the same measurement, on account of the irregularities of form of the latter. This could only be done approximately, and resulted in great inconvenience and vexation to the wearer, from the fact that the hat would only touch his head in spots. In someinstances the pressure on one spot would be so great that the bump of benevolence,for instance, would stand in great danger of being pressed out of existence.

To obviate these difficulties I leave unstiffened that portion of the cloth or felt rim of the hat which is between a line about one-half to three-quarters of an-inch from the body and the body itself, all around the body, so that the hat will conform to all the inequalities of form of the head of the person wearing it, in the same manner as a soft felt hat will; and because that portion of the rim which is next to the body or cylindrical part of the hat being soft, this soft part will give to the internal pressure, but will not disturb the symmetry and form of the rim.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe its construction.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical cross-section of my hat with a felt body and rim, the inner edge of the latter being carried up far enough on the body to allow it to be firmly secured thereto; Fig. 2, a plan view of the same; Fig. 3, a vertical cross-section of another form of my hat with a felt body and rim all in one piece.

A is the body of the hat, made of muslin, stifl'ened with shellac. This muslin body is in this instance in two layers, stuck together. B

is the felt rim, which is turned up into the main body of the hat only far enough to permit it to be fastened thereto with shellac. This turned-up part is set between the two layers of muslin which form the body of the hat. 0 is the silk-plush cover of the hat, which is over both the rim and body; D, a lower cover from the rim, simply attached to finish the appearance of that portion of the hat. Gr indicates the whole cylindrical portion of the hat; H, an ordinary sweat-band. The letter B, Fig. 2, indicates that part of the rim which is left soft; 13, the part which is stiffened to give shape to the rim of the hat.

The construction of the hat shown in Fig. 3 is slightly different from that shown in Fig. 1, in that the felt rim in Fig. 3 is a part and continuation of the hat-body, which is all felt, and all stiffened excepting that part of the rim which is left soft in the hat shown in Fig. 1. This felt body and rim are covered with plush, and the inside of the felt which forms the cylindrical portion of the hat is lined with a suitable lining, which in this case is satin, and

this lining is attached and stuck tightly to the inside of the felt body, the crown being similarly lined. I is the felt body; I, that portion of it which forms the rim; J, the silk-plush covering; K, the tight lining. L is a narrow band of light cloth or muslin stuck to the outer half of the rim all around, (13, Fig. 2,) to which it is attached by. means of shellac.

My invention is applicable as well to ordt nary stiff felt hats as to what are commonly known as silk hats.

The arrangement of the various parts of the hats above described, as well as the methods of putting them together, will be well under= stood by hatters from the above description.

In stiffening the body and rim I refrain from applying any shellac, or if any, very little, to that portion of the rim indicated by the letter B in Fig. 2viz., between the dotted line and the cylinder 5 but I make the outer portion, 13, of the hat-rim correspondingly stiffer, so that it will not have the least tendency to be distorted by the give of the inner portion, B, when the hat is in service.

The lining K gives a pretty finish to the inside of the felt body, makes the hat more salable, and adds to the stiffness of the body.

My hat is self-adjusting. My rim may be ,madeof two or more layers of woven cloth stuck together, or of one thickness of solid dense thick cloth. The method of stiffening would be the same.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto securebyLetters Patent, is- I 1. In a self-adjusting stiff hat, the combination of a stifi'ened body, A, and a separate cloth or felt rim, B, the latter being attached to the former by suitable means, as described, and-the said rim being stiffened by a suitable substance or composition in greater proportion toward its outer extremity, 13, than in that toward its inner part, B, substantially as and for the purposes described. V

2. In a self-adjusting stiff hat, the combination of a felt or cloth body and rim, I I, in one piece, and a lining, K, the said rim being soft andpliable in that part B adjoining-the cylinder, and stiffened by means .of shellac or other suitable substance around its outer part, B, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In a self-adjusting stiff hat, the combination of a'felt or cloth body and rim, I I, in one piece, and a tightly-attached or pasted lining, K, the said rim being .soft and pliable in that part B adjoining the cylinder, and stifl'ened by means of shellac or other suitable substance around its outerpart, B, substantiallyas and forthe purpose described.

MICHAEL MCGLONE.

Witnesses: GEORGE E. BUGKLEY, HENRY V. BUoKLEY. 

